So with all the hype, all the discussion of how the candidates should prepare, and what needs to happen at them, I figure I will offer my two cents. Basically I want to touch on several themes that I hope will differentiate the candidates:
- Immigration: It is amazing the range of :facts out there regarding immigration. Stories of refugees getting all kinds of government benefits, and those out of status - "illegal aliens" getting various tax credits. That said, I would love to see a hearty defense of immigration. Why we do welcome immigrants and refugees, perhaps not with special benefits and tax credits, but still true to the words on the Statue found in New York harbor. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."
- Global Warming: Something we can not see and many of us do not believe exist. It is something that the Department of Defense perceives as a threat. It is something that those working for the State of Florida cannot reference, but regardless are dealing with today. Here I would want to see science appealed to and defended. It is science that allows us to grasp the concept of global warming, and to ignore it is to deny or dispute science.
- Foreign Policy: We have ISIS and terror, we have trade agreements, we have China, we have North Korea, and Iran. We have NATO and our allies. Are there common themes or strategies here? Is each of these unique? What is an appropriate strategy to determine trade policies and who is an ally, and who is an enemy, and all of this is based on what?
- Lastly our heritage - who are we: All of us want America to be great. Trump wants to make America great again. Clinton has responded that America is and has always been great. Which is it? What is our history, our heritage? What has been and what are our challenges? I do believe that those issues that haunt us today, have been with us since Philadelphia in 1776, and 1787. They have challenged us is in 1861, and 1890, in 1929 and 1945, and beyond. The jobs, the immigrants, the races, education and science, and more. They all bring us back to our heritage and what in that heritage is to be appealed to.
So we shall see. These are themes I am curious about. I am more than curious about them. These are the themes I want fleshed out. I really do not know what we will get.
